Heparinase, an enzyme that degrades the anticoagulant heparin, is isolated from the bacterium Flavobacterium heparinum after inducing enzyme formation by growth of the bacterium on heparin as sole source of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfate. After partial purification, the enzyme can be used to neutralize heparin in plasma samples or in fractions of plasma, making possible quantitative assays for coagulation factors which would otherwise be impossible in the presence of heparin. Current research on this project includes scaling up the bacterial fermentation and enzyme purification so as to have an adequate supply of enzyme, and screening a number of storage conditions so as to improve the shelf life of the preparation. The long term goal is to develop a preparation of adequate quantity, quality, and stability for use as a standard reagent in coagulation diagnostic assays.